Pizza is a weekly dinner favorite at our house. We never have a problem making this meal disappear, usually we are all fighting over who gets the last slice! I have always loved deep dish pizza so I was super excited to be able to make it at home in my favorite cast iron skillet. This Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza recipe is surprisingly easy, fun to make, and tastes restaurant-quality. You will be amazed at how this pizza comes together right on your stove top and finishes under the broiler.
My favorite pizza dough, is a frozen variety by Tiseo’s. We just thaw it in the fridge the night before we plan to use it, or leave it on the counter for about 4 hours prior to using.
This pizza dough is fantastic, and perfect for me because I work full time and don’t always have time to make pizza dough from scratch. It makes 1, 12inch Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza or 1, 14inch hand-tossed pizza.
If you prefer to make your own, and need a good homemade dough recipe, this one is fantastic:
https://www.recipetineats.com/pizza-dough-recipe/
Seasoning Your Cast Iron Pan
The real key to this process is properly seasoning your cast iron pan. I drizzled in about a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, then sprinkled in about a teaspoon of cornmeal. This provides us with a non-stick surface for the pizza dough. The only seasonings needed are a little kosher salt, black pepper, and oregano.
Once your pan is properly seasoned you need to do 3 things:
- Gather your favorite toppings, pizza sauce, and get them ready
- *Pro tip: Leave the shredded mozzarella cheese in the fridge until you are absolutely ready to use it. This will help the cheese brown better and keep the top of the pizza from getting orange and oily
- Preheat your oven broiler on High
- Place your seasoned pan on a large stove burner and turn the heat to medium
Assembling the Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza
Now, this part is important: Be careful to use your time efficiently, you have about 6-8 minutes to top the pizza after the dough in the pan has been placed on the burner. Set a timer so you can keep track. The bottom of the pizza dough is cooking while you are adding the toppings. For my stove, it takes precisely 7 minutes to get the bottom of the crust golden-brown.
Next, spread your dough out evenly and press gently into your seasoned cast iron pan while heating on the burner.
Spread about 1/2 cup pizza sauce edge to edge on the dough, or more if you prefer. We like a lot of sauce on our pizza. I added a little extra seasoning to our sauce with: oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper for even more flavor.
Remove your Shredded Mozzarella Cheese from the fridge. Sprinkle about 1.5 cups on top of dough and sauce layers, again working from edge to edge.
Now, add all your favorite toppings. The girls and I love a good mix of meats and vegetables, but my hubby is more particular, hence the half and half vibe going on here.
After about 7 minutes have passed on the burner, place your pizza in the pre-heated high broil oven. Broil for 4-5 minutes until the cheese and crust are brown and bubbly and toppings start to soften.
Don’t rest your pizza on the hot burner you were using during assembly. Put it on a cool surface or hot pad, and let it rest for a minute or two.
Then, take a butter knife and scrape the caramelized crust from the sides of the pan. After another minute or two, take some tongues or a large spatula and transfer the pizza to a cutting board.
Cut, and serve! Enjoy the soft yet crispy crust, with amazing Italian bread-stick flavor from our pan seasoning step in the beginning. Your whole family will love this amazing pizza recipe! We even do a barbecue chicken version that is out of this world delicious!
Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza
Equipment
- 12inch Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 Frozen Tiseo's Pizza Dough, thawed (or homemade dough)
- 1/2 cup Jarred Pizza Sauce
- 1.5 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Pizza toppings as desired: pepperoni, diced ham, chopped onions, green pepper, mushrooms, bacon bits, olives, etc.
Cast Iron Pan Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Cornmeal
- Pinch Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
Optional Seasonings to Add to Pizza Sauce Layer
- Pinch of Dried Oregano, Basil, Crushed Red Pepper (or a pinch of Pizza, Pasta, Magic Seasoning)
Instructions
- Thaw frozen pizza dough, or prepare homemade dough as desired.
- Drizzle olive oil into cast iron skillet, sprinkle cornmeal, salt, pepper, and oregano.
- Gather pizza sauce, toppings and chop/prepare as needed. Keep shredded mozzarella cheese in fridge until you are absolutely ready to use it.Work your dough until it is evenly thin (either with your hands or a rolling pin) and about 12 inches in diameter.
- Preheat oven broiler on high. Place one oven rack in the highest position. Move the seasoned cast iron pan onto a large stove burner over medium to medium-high heat. Gently press the prepared pizza dough into the pan warming on the burner.
- Set a timer for 6-8 minutes to get your pizza assembled. My stove cooks the pizza dough bottom perfectly at exactly 7 minutes. Spread the pizza sauce from edge to edge. Add any optional seasonings, if desired.
- Remove shredded mozzarella from the fridge, and top the pizza from edge to edge.
- Add your meat and vegetable toppings as desired. Spread them evenly, but being careful not to excessively overfill the pizza.
- After about 7 minutes have passed with the pan on the stove burner, your pizza should be finished being assembled. Place your cast iron skillet in the pre-heated high broil oven on the highest rack. Broil for 4-5 minutes until the cheese and crust are brown and bubbly and toppings start to soften.
- Let the pizza rest for 1 minute, then scrape the sides of the pan/crust with a butter knife. This will prevent the pizza from sticking. Transfer pizza to a cutting board to slice. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Like this recipe? Try my Perfect Chicken Alfredo Pizza recipe next!
https://beckysrecipebox.com/perfect-chicken-alfredo-pizza/